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1. The Patrick Chronicles – Part 2
Thisis probablyabig surprise tomostpeople whofollowus,butbothMatt andI are prettyshywith
people we don’tknow.Neitherone of uswantedto approachany of the officersthere toinquire if
Patrickwas infact there.We were ina little bitof a difficultsituation.Here we wereatan event
where the officerswere concentratingonthe eventstheywere doingwiththeirdogs.Itwasopento
the public,butwe didn’twantto be a nuisance.We hadneverbeentoan eventlike thisandhadno
ideaif inquiringaboutacertaindog wasacceptable.Atone pointwe were thinkingaboutleaving,
but we had drivenwell overanhourto get there anddevotedourdayto watch the trial.
Matt finallygotupthe courage and didapproach an officerfromthe department. He had one of our
Patricktradingcards and showeditto the officer.Ihungback because Iwas supernervousabout
howwe wouldbe received.Ididn’twantthemtothinkwe were ambushing them, orthatwe were
crazy people.The officerdidconfirmthatthe dogwe thoughtwas Patrickwas there andwas super
nice and calledthe partnerof the dog over.That officerwasalsoverynice andsaw Patrick’scard
and saidyes,thatwas hisdog. He knewthat hisname wasPatrick,but had beenrenamed.
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All the officerswere extremelynice.We were givenanopportunitybetweeneventstosayhi to
Patrick.Everyone wantstoknowif he rememberedus,I’mprettysure thathe did.We got lotsof tail
wags,but Patrickseemedtobe veryfocusedonhishandler…andthe toyhe had onhim.While some
people mighthave beendisappointedthatourreunionwasn’tmore exuberant,Iwasn’t
disappointedatall.We came at a time whenPatrickwason duty.He wasdefinitelyinworkmode
and that made me proud.He washappy tosee us, butreadyto go to work.We had noideaif we
wouldbe a huge distractionforPatrickand cause himto not do as well ashe couldat the trial.We
absolutelydidn’twant tobe the cause of himnot beinghisbest.

2. We stayeda little longerandwatchedPatrickcompete andcheerhimonin the final eventof the
trial,the apprehensionphase.Iwasa little surprisedthathe hadlearnedbite work,mainlybecause
he was such an outgoingandsuperfriendlyguywithpeople.Ineverthoughthe wouldwanttobite,
or if he didthat itwouldchange him.Well he dida reallygoodjobat followingthe directionshis
partnergave him,I was superimpressed.Ididn’tnotice muchof a change inhim at all,he wasstill a
friendlyguywithpeople andhispartnerevensharedsome adorablephotosof himsayinghi tosome
of the people andkidsintheircommunity.Sothose fearswentoutthe window veryquickly.
While we were there we occasionallygotpointedouttosome of the officersinthe departmentand
were introducedasPatrick’sraisers.We hadsome funsharingsome of the goofyphotoswe had
takenof him as a puppy.We evenhada goodlaughwhenI sharedphotosof Patrick’sfirsthalloween
and himbeingdressedupasa cop. Everyofficerwe spoke withhadnothingbutgreatthingsto say
aboutPatrick.It seemslike he isverywell likedthroughoutthe department,of course thatmakesus
feel wonderful.Otherpeople loveandcare for Patrickas much as we do.
Rightbefore we headedoutfromthe trial we gave Patrick’spartnerhisfavorite puppyhoodtoy,his
frisbee.We hadbroughtitwithus justincase we ran intothem.Patrick’sface litup whenhe saw his
oldtoy,it was the exactwayI had imaginedhandingthattoyover.We actuallyhave a box of
frisbeesinourgarage somewhere thatwe hadsavedjustincase we made contact withPatrick’s
newpartner.We may have to go searchingforthose.
Nowyoumay be wonderingwhyI’mstill callingPatrick,Patrick,andnotby hisnew name.Because
we surprisedthe departmentatthe eventandwe haven’thada chance to form a real relationship
withthemand discusshowmuchtheywantus to reveal aboutPatrick,we have decidednotto
reveal hisnewname orwhat departmenthe iswith.Patrickbelongstothemnow andwe needtobe
respectful tothattheyshouldbe able tomake these decisionsabouthim.ThisisalsoforPatrickand
hispartner’ssafety.Patricknowworksina veryhighriskfield.HisPartnerhasenoughtoworry
abouteverytime theyleave theirhome forwork,we don’twantthemto have any furtherstress.
We have noideawhat type of relationshipwe willhave withPatrick’snew partner,itiscompletely
up to himon if he wantsto stay incontact withus. Of course we hope that we can have some sort of
relationship,buttime willtell.Icansay that Patrickcouldn’thave beenplacedwithabetterperson.
He seemstohave a perfectunderstandingof whoPatrickisand embracesit.Patrickseemsto
absolutelylovehisjobandhispartner.Everythingwe were tryingtotone downwithPatrickasa
puppyhe nowis encouragedtoletout.He has foundthe jobthat he was meantto do.It tookus two
and a half years,butwe can nowsitand watch our puppyworkand say,“That’s our boy,we helped
himbecome the doghe istoday.”Patrickdidn’tbecome a guide dogtohelpone personstaysafe,he
isnow helpingtokeepanentire communitysafe.We are now hisbiggestfansfromthe sidelines.
Andjustlike everyotherpersonthatreceivesapuppywe raise,we are alwayshere forPatrick’s
partnerif he needsanything.
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